Games Beaten : 2011

[Gamerforlife]

I just don't seem to be going through a lot of games. So I'm probably not going to wait until I have beaten a few titles before posting. Anyway.....

Games Beaten:
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the DS
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light for the PS3
Sonic 4: Episode 1 for the PS3
Donkey Kong Country Returns

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee

So I already beat this years ago, but not with the perfect quarma ending. That was my goal in playing the game again. Rescuing every NPC and not letting any of them die. I accomplished that goal and so here are my thoughts after playing through the game again.

I really enjoyed it. The game features a lot of things that I particularly enjoy as a gamer. Lots of NPCs to interact and work cooperatively with - similar to games like Ico, Enslaved, Freedom Fighters, etc., puzzles, platforming, a morality system, good story, unique character designs and lots of comedy.

I also love the game's serious themes about nature, evil corporations, animal abuse, industry, etc. The way the Oddworld series manages to do this while being light-hearted, funny and in no way preachy or self important is impressive

Lastly, I LOVE all the fun ways you can kill your enemies! Drown them, blow them up, control their minds, send your NPCs to attack them, use a crane to drop them into a pen with violent animals, make them explode with your mind powers, drop them into a spinning blade machine, or just take posession of one of them with a gun and shoot every other enemy in the area to death! This game recalls the kind of fun I have playing games like Wild 9 and the Tecmo Deception series where HOW you kill your enemies is part of the fun

Unfornately, for all the game's merits it has quite a few flaws. None of which are really that big a deal on their own, but are enough reason when looked at together to keep this from being a "timeless" game in my opinion.

Abe handles VERY awkwardly, which isn't a problem until you have to do some actual platforming with him. These parts of the game just feel sloppy. Fortunately, the game doesn't actually have a whole lot of platforming segments, just enough to make you remember its roots in the genre. The camera sucks as well, though you have options to adjust it fortunately. It's still problematic though. Also, Munch is just not any fun to play as at all and it is always annoying when the game forces you to switch control over to him. He is very awkwardly put into the game from a gameplay standpoint and I often wished I could just play the whole game with Abe like in previous Oddworld games. Munch feels very shoehorned into the game and is pretty weak as a character too. I never found myself really liking him much. He comes across as a bit of a dick. After playing this and Stranger's Wrath(which I played a few years ago), I feel that the series is at its best when the focus is on Abe.

Props to the game though for its save anywhere feature though, and the fact that you can copy your saves onto a memory card- a feature that is annoyingly missing from a lot of original Xbox games. This game is still a classic in my eyes, but a flawed and ultimately, not very "timeless" one. I still love it though

Trying to decide if I should stay on this Oddworld track and replay some of the other games in the series that I own, or take advantage of my new Wii's backward compatability to play some Gamecube titles I never really got very far in like Zelda: Wind Waker or Metroid Prime

[emwearz]

Plants Vs Zombies - PC
Halo 3: ODST - 360
Enslaved: Odyssey To The West - 360
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - NDS
Unreal Tournament 3 - 360
Dead Space - 360
Harms Way - XBLA
Starfox Assault - GC
Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift - IOS
The House of the Dead: Overkill - Wii
Fallout 3 - 360
Peggle Extreme - PC
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast - PC
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - 360
Portal - PC
The Great Gatsby - Browser
Kirby Super Star Ultra - NDS
Bulletstorm - PC*NEW

Total: 18

Thoughts on the Game(s)

Bulletstorm exceeded my expectations in almost every way, sure the story is a bit weak at the times and the ending was a bit lame (giving no doubt they are planning a sequel). Sure the novelty of the skill kills wear off, and by the end you dont really give a shit about them. But as far as FPS go, this is one of the better ones I have played for quite a long time.

Much longer than I originally thought it would be (I expected 4 odd hours, It seemed closers to 8-10).

I highly recommend this.

[yomomma1]

1. Deja Vu
2. Lunar Legend
3. Skies of Arcadia Legends
4. Streets of rage 2
5. No more heroes 2
6. Rogue Galaxy
7. Pokemon White
8. Dragon Age 2(new)


I really don't understand why people absolutely hated Dragon Age 2. My only complaint is that for the first 2 hours I had no Idea what I was doing, and the environments. They use the exact same 5 or so environments for 95% of the quests Cave, Cave with grass, Mansion, Warehouse, and uh... well mainly that's it.

[MrHealthy]

Oh, didn't realize I didn't comment on my last few games, so I will leave them marked as new. Thats Kororinpa, Mega Man 6, and Eat Lead just so ya know.

• Red Dead Redemption (PS3)
  Demon's Souls (PS3)
  Dead Space: Ignition (PSN)
  Dead Space 2 (PS3)
  Costume Quest (PSN)
  Blueberry Garden (PC Download)
  Donkey Kong (NES)
  Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
  Donkey Kong Jr. (NES)
  Golf (NES)
  Mega Man 2 (NES)
  Mega Man 4 (NES)
  
  *New*Kororinpa: Marble Mania (Wii)
  One of the best marble games I've played. Controls are super precious for a 'waggle' game, which can be problematic if you aren't used to it, because any slight shift can move you. However, once you can control it (shouldn't take too long, the early courses are designed to be fairly easy and get you into it) the ammount of precision is amazing.
  
  I just which the game was longer, only 45 main levels, a handful of bonus levels. Mirror mode I guess doubles that level count, but it doesn't really offer much new challenge. Still, this is my number two marble game, only being beaten by Super Monkey Ball 2.
  
  *New*Mega Man 6 (NES)
  The last classic Mega Man I needed to beat on the NES. Not much to say here other then that I really love the level themes in this game and the level design / graphics seem much improved over previous entries.
  
  *New*Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard (PS3)
  Got this from dsh in the first charity auction we had here. Been slowly working my way through the hardest difficulty since then. Bassicly I would keep getting stuck at one point and I would stop playing for a while, come back later, and beat it in 1 or 2 tries.
  
  I was not expecting much from this game at all, but it ended up being quite humerous and engaging. There was a large variety of enemy types which had to be tackled in different ways and the game was quite good at making fun of itself as well as other genres. Its worth noting I got the platinum.
  
  *New*Tomb Raider Underworld (PS3)
  Got this one in the most recent charity auction. Never played a Tomb Raider game before so I didn't know what to expect. Way to much super natural elements for my liking, but otherwise the mythology behind the areas visited were cool. All in all, this would have been a great game, if the controls didn't blow.
  
  It was an exercise in frustration just getting Lara to jump were I wanted her too. And sometimes it was really hard to tell what I could and could not grab onto. Since the platforming was challenging enough on its own I broke down and used the one shot kills cheat to play the game. I just couldn't be bothered with the lackluster combat. A lot of potential here squandered. I did manage to nab most of the trophies though, so I just need to grab the rest of the treasures for the platinum. I'll probably do that sometime this summer.
  
  *New*The Conduit (Wii)
  Bought this at launch because I was really hyped about it. First some backstory though, the reason I was so hyped was because I had been to E3 that year and met most of the dev team. They were really cool people, and despite not being with any major journalism sites or mags let me have a behind the scenes look at there next game The Grinder (what happened to that?) as well as gave me a conduit poster signed by the whole team (number 46 out of 50). So its a nice rare collectable, even if its not vaulable.
  
  Anyways, they were really nice people, they love what they do and I wanted to show them some support, so I bought it day one. That said, they deffinately bit off more then they can could chew. Too many promises, not enough delivery. If you can look past the faults though (mostly graphical) you will find a solid and enjoyable corridor shooter. The pointer controls are, in my opinion, some of the best on the wii, and the fact that the HUD and most of the controls can be configured / remapped is a huge plus. I did try out the multiplayer, but it quickly got infested with cheaters, which is not High Voltages fault considering its Nintendos bad online system that allows it.
  
  Still, the game may be a bit dated in design, but I actually really liked that about it. Brought back fond memories of my youth.
  
  *New*New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
  Played this at the same E3 as the conduit. And like the conduit, bought it day one because of it. My feelings are mixed on this one. As a single player mario (the way I beat it) I feel it is the poorest game in the series. But played with 3 or 4 others its some of the most fun I've ever had. Too bad I don't get to play with that many people often.
  
  *New*Red Steel (Wii)
  Oh, the launch game that could have been. Considering that its a launch title, its looks great graphically. Everything else felt rushed though. All the mechics could have used more polish and time. Sword fighting is not near precious enough and since there are so many fights it could get frustrating. As well, the code for the pointer controls is really glitchy, causing your pointer to jump around at random sometimes. Its still a playable game, but can be frustrating. I do look forward to seeing how much improvement Red Steel 2 offers.

Total: 19

Up next?
I did start Aquaria but I'm not really feeling it right now. I was also thinking of playing through Sin and Punishment as I just picked up its sequel Sin & Punishment: Star Successor on the cheap. I've also had an urge to bust out my gamecube and continue on with Baten Kaitos. Only time will tell which I end up tackling first.

2010 Games

[alienjesus]

I love Kororinpa, it's such a great Wii game I think everyone should play. Most people have never heard of it though.

[MrHealthy]

Well it would have slipped under my radar as well if it were not for my local library. Not sure why they had it, as they usually only stock the big name stuff but I'm glad I discovered it. I do own a copy now, but man, so glad my library loans out games. Made a few other nice discovers because of them.

Any word on how the sequel is? I'd like to pick it up at some point. If I can ever find it that is.

[alienjesus]

Well it would have slipped under my radar as well if it were not for my local library. Not sure why they had it, as they usually only stock the big name stuff but I'm glad I discovered it. I do own a copy now, but man, so glad my library loans out games. Made a few other nice discovers because of them.

Any word on how the sequel is? I'd like to pick it up at some point. If I can ever find it that is.

I've heard its ok but not as good, but tbh, I haven't played it and I frankly can't see how it can be much more than more of the same. I know its longer and has a level editor.

[Flake]

1/11 Guardian Heroes (SAT)
1/14 Sonic Adventure (GCN)
1/17 Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC)
1/17 X-Men vs Street Fighter (SAT)
1/22 Dragon Ball Z Budokai (GCN)
1/24 Street Fighter III - The New Generation (DC)
1/24 Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
1/25 Mega Man X (GCN)
1/26 Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure (GBA)
1/31 Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Wii)
2/1 Megaman X2 (GCN)
2/2 Marvel vs Capcom (DC)
2/3 Megaman X3 (GCN)
2/3 Megaman X4 (GCN)
2/4 Megaman X5 (GCN)
2/5 Megaman X6 (GCN)
2/7 Gundam SEED: Never Ending Tomorrow (PS2)
2/8 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (DC)
2/9 Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams (PS2)
2/9 The King of Fighters XI (PS2)
2/11 The King of Fighters '99 Dream Match (DC)
2/13 SNK Gals Fighter (NGPC)
2/16 The King of Fighters '98 (Wii)
2/17 The King of Fighters '96 (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug (Wii)
2/17 Metal Slug 2 (Wii)
2/18 SNK vs Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (NGPC)
2/19 The King of Fighters '97 (Wii)
2/19 Street Fighter II' (Wii / VC)
2/22 Metal Slug 3 (Wii)
2/25 Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
2/27 Capcom vs SNK 2 (DC)
2/27 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)
3/3 Mega Man II (GB)
3/5 Super Street Fighter II: HD Remix (PS3)
3/6 Mega Man III (GB)
3/11 Mega Man IV (GB)
3/13 Mega Man: Powered Up! (PSP)

Decided to run through MMPU again to grab all the level editor items I lost when my save files went missing. This time I beat it with Protoman for the first time - at first I was kind of disappointed by how many opportunities Capcom seemed to have missed with Protoman's 'what-if?' version of the story...until the very last moment of the credits. Well done, Capcom. Nice touch.

[noiseredux]

1. Mercs (PS2)
2. Darkstalkers 3 (PS1)
3. House Of The Dead Overkill (Wii)
4. Mega Man 3 (PS2)
5. Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (PS2)
6. Halo 2600 (Atari 2600)
7. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game (NES)
8. Castlevania Chronicles (PS1)
9. Shadow Of The Colossus (PS2)
10. Capcom Vs. SNK Pro (PS1)

just got home from PAX, and I have so much to talk about. Had a blast today. But my head's still spinning, so I really just needed to relax with a beer and something arcade-ish. Cracked open my minty CvS that I recently bought from Bradtemple87 and figured I'd give it a go. Turns out I'm phenomenal at this one. Like way better than the 2nd one. I had to use one continue, but beat the game on my first playthrough. My team was Chun-Li and Mai. I only had to use Mai a couple of times. I really wanted to use Morrigan, who was listed in the manual but I couldn't find her at the character selection screen. (Can anyone explain that to me??? She's my favorite. I wanna use her.)

Game-wise, this is an excellent one. The sprites are gorgeous and after playing King Of Fighters last month, I still far prefer this. I guess I'm just a Capcom-dude when it comes to fighters. The load times on this are horrendous though. So bad. But great game. Oh and I'm in double-digits for beaten games now.

EDIT: nevermind, I unlocked Morrigan after beating it.

[final fight cd]

a question for noise:

flake said that mega man IV was better than any nes mega man. what is your take on this? assuming you have played it.